How we scored it
Where it comes from
Made by ethoxylating cetyl alcohol, typically from coconut or palm kernel oil, with about 12 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide. No natural-origin alternative to the ethoxylation step exists.
In plain English
Ceteth-12 is a wax-like emulsifier made by reacting cetyl alcohol (from coconut or palm oil) with a chain of ethylene oxide, a petroleum-derived building block. It's used to cleanse and to blend oil and water.
CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-hexadecyl-.omega.-hydroxy- (12 mol EO average molar ratio)
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References
- 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
- 2CETETH-12. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 3CETETH-12. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CETETH-12